For my audience feedback I interviewed 8 people and these were the results:


What is your favourite music genre?

Alternative: 1
Pop: 5
Rock: 2
Dance: 0
Rap: 0


What features would you expect from a music video of this genre?

Alternative: "little bit abstract and out there"

Pop: "dance routines, elaborate costumes, use of setting, props, to look expensive, emphasis on the artist"

Rock: "emphasis on instruments and dark clothing"



What is your favourite music video and why?

"A Team by Ed Sheeran, as its touching and tells a story"

"All my life by Foo Fighters because of its focus on the band itself"

"People help the people by Birdy as its very simplistic, also I like the effect black and white has"

"We found love by Rihanna because of the emotional storyline and the use of setting"

"Its oh so quiet by Bjork because of the unexpected story and the great dance routines"

"Beauty and the beat by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj because of the fluidity of the camera and the story"

"Single Ladies by Beyonce because its catchy and I like the dance moves"

"Mr Brightside by The Killers because of the use of costumes"



What would you expect from a Kate Nash music video?

"little bit sarcastic, little bit cheeky, you know whats shes like"

"lots of use of props and colours"

"very fun and artistic"

"acts out a story that matches the lyrics"

"girly costumes and themes"

"tells an emotional story"

"summery themes, bright colours, birds"

"colourful costumes"

Audience Profile:

The audience profile I have chosen is 16-24 year olds, the reasons for this are as followed;

• Kate Nash's music fits into the age category
• The video with be about a love story, which will appeal much more to younger people
• The actors in the video will all be of a similar age

However the video will appeal to most audiences, it will be simple, vibrant and entertaining. I intend to do this by creating a story, which people can follow. Although its a fairly recent song, it isnt a dance track and doesnt sound modern.

I also intend to create an audience questionnaire which I will distribute to my peers and fellow students, although if possible those that arent studying media. The questions I have so far are;

1. What is your favourite music genre? (Which has a list to choose from)
2. What features and conventions would you expect from a music video of this genre?
3. What is your favourite music video and why?
4. What features would you expect from a Kate Nash music video?

This will give me a clear indication to what people enjoy watching, what people expect from Kate Nash, and maybe even go against the stereotype. I think I will find this very beneficial.

To start my planning for "Merry Happy" I printed the lyrics off and wrote notes around them. This really did help me to visualise the video, having all the lyrics in one place meant that I could get some ideas down.

This ideas I have are to use a variety of colour in the video, as its winter now and the skies will be getting grey, especially in London which is where I plan on filming it. To contrast the grey of the skies and the buildings I intend to use lots of different colours, different locations, use of outdoor spaces as well as urban scenery. I also liked the running theme of a relationship in the video, which sounds pretty normal and safe, but its goign to have a twist.

From my research of other music videos I know that to have a running theme or story makes the video more relatable and more entertaining for audiences. This is why research is so important before creating a media production.

GETTING TO KNOW MY ARTIST: 

Kate Nash is a 25 year old singer/songwriter from North London. She was one of the hundreds of artists to come out of MySpace. Her first studio album "Made of Bricks" is the album in which I discovered Merry Happy. The album itself reached number 1 in the UK. I like her style, the lyrics and her laid back style. Her style is unmistakable and sets her apart from other artists in the UK.

This is who I will be using as my version of Kate Nash!

If I am going to project a Kate Nash song into a music video, I must first look at what techniques and styles she as an artist herself uses:

The first video I analysed was "Mouthwash" released in September 2007. The first thign I noticed was that the video was quite fluid, rather than shots and shots and shots being linked together in editing, it seems to be more of a continuous shot. The second was her focus on the piano, her main instrument. At the start she mimed playing the piano along to the song, which i thought was very clever; as she moves out of the changing room into the main stage a piano sits at the centre of the room, showing two extremes. I also noticed was her use of colour, the colours of pink and blue are very prominent in the video, and her use of setting is somewhat unusual making it entertaining to watch and overall aesthetically pleasing. 

 

 

 

The second video I analysed was "Kiss That Grrrl" released in 2010. The video concentrates more on the artist herself compared to "Mouthwash". It also differs in the way that there is more focus on choreography and performance. Also, having the video set mostly on the stage makes it feel more planned and scripted. The lion is also the motif of the song, linking to the title "grrrl". I wasnt such a fan of this video, I felt that the theme was diffused, and that the scenes on top of the hill could have been more prominant.  

 

The last video I analysed was "Do-Wah-Doo" released in 2010.This differs from the others because of the storyline. I also enjoyed watching this one the most because I enjoy music videos with a clear storyline that you can follow, rather than just performance. The video also had a distinct thme and direction, due to close up angles of facial expressions and shots of cramped and crowded settings. The video also incorporated routine and choreography in, but it was more subtle than the other tow, incorporation it into the background, with actions from main characters being determined by place and setting.

 

From analysing these, Im sure that I want to use a Kate Nash song as I like her style of singing and performing, but also feel that I can bring something different to it. Im also sure that I want to include a narrative behind the video, as I feel they are more entertaining and gripping to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the brainstorm sheet about song choices, different artists and genre's we could use for our song. We came up with an overriding theme of using 60's music, as they dont have recent music video's and we could use a modern day interpretation. My writing is in red, and the songs I chose were by Supergrass, Mumford & Sons, Queen, Kate Nash, Madness, The Beatles, The Kinks and Oasis.

I also used the songs and artists on my iPod to give me inspiration and help us decide on a song. My favourite by far was "Merry Happy" by Kate Nash. This is because its easy to listen to, has a good beat, and easy to mime to. It also give lots of oppertunity for creativity in the use of features and effects as the song is quite simple.

To start my research I looked at 4 completely different music video's and analysed the media techniques used and if I could take inspiration from them.

The first music video I analysed was "We Found Love" by Rihanna and Calvin Harris.

I thought the video was wonderfully diverse, bright, colourful and full of emotion and passion. The video starts with a commentary from a British girl, with a slow and almost haunting piano playing at the start. This is highly contrasted by the fast dance beat that then starts, almost giving the video a new meaning and agenda.

As the beat starts to rise up and up at the start of the song the images are of a happy, young and fun loving couple are shown. As the song, and the story progresses we learn that they have an abundance of drugs around them, and that pent up anger is going to end the relationship. This idea of a story against the song makes viewers want to keep watching. And because the clips, and the song building up are both quite intense we know that it will lead to something dramatic.

I enjoyed watching the video because of its intensity, how it uses lots of different clips and situations to keep the viewer interested. I also enjoyed the pace of the video, the huge variety of angles and shots used and the use of colour and projection. I have learnt that to make a music video interesting to the viewer its important to have a staory and to use a variety of shots and angles to keep the audience entertained.





The next music video I analysed was "Always Like This" by Bombay Bicycle Club.
                                                                                  

This song contrasts the dance track I analysed first, I enjoyed the simplicity of it, the colours and video and playback techniques used. As the video starts I didnt quite know what to expect, as the begginning of the actual song is rather ominous and the pictures dont give us any indication at all.

I really admire the techniques used, like the playback and video camera effects which I thought were really effective. The song itself is lively, disjointed and upbeat; this is complimented by the locations used in the video. The simple locations, block colours, playgrounds, outside areas, streets, they all complimented the beat of the song. Also the use of block colours, simple clothes, swings and playgrounds gives the whole video a childish feel, which goes hand in hand with the simple melody of the song.

I have taken lots of inspiration from this video, I like the use of colour, outdoor spaces and playback. Of course I cannot copy the video, but I'd like to think I can pick and choose bits and make them my own in order to create my music video.





"Lego House" by Ed Sheeran was the third music video I decided to analyse.

The video is one of my all time favourites for many reasons. The first and foremost being that it has a story thats entertaining and easy to follow. The story also has a twist, where the audience thinks Rupert Grint is pretending or acting as Ed Sheeran, but really he's in love with him. This twist in the plot made me want to go back and watch it again and again. I like the idea of following a story and listening to the music, this really appeals to me. I also like the way that the song compliments the video at first, but goes on to shock audiences and completely contradict the story. This technique is something I will think very hard about concerning my video.

 

 

 

The final video I analysed was the song "Little Lion Man" by Mumford & Son's.

 



In this video I liked the use of clothing, style and extra emphasis on the singers, musicians and instruments. The band have always been known as a sort of country band, this brings with it a very distinct image. The clothes that they wear reflet the song perfectly, I think this is very important for a music video, for the singers or characters to have a distinct image. They also throw lots of light on the instruments, most of which you wouldnt see in a pop or rock band. There is also lots of emphasis on the singers and how they look when they are singing it, this gives the audience a chance to really see the passion in what they are playing. Another thing, the fact that theatre they were performing in was empty except for them, so it gives the audience an impression that they are singing to us, this persoalises the video more, and makes us feel involved rather than seeing them playing a gig and not feeling part of it. From this video I have learnt that distinct image is very important, and to make the audience feel like they could be there watching them is also very effective.